Smoke From Waldo Canyon Fire Impacts Cars

The Waldo Canyon Fire impacted many people, including community members not in the burn zone. It all has to do with your car.

Now that the wildfire has been declared 100% contained, and the air has started to clear up, KRDO NewsChannel13 found some information about changing your air filter to avoid lasting health problems.

A few weeks ago, smoke from the fire invaded people’s lungs, eyes, and even cars. Professionals at Courtesy Automotive said that people who were driving near all that smoke need to get their interior air filters changed, or risk worsening breathing problems. This is especially true of people who suffer from asthma and other breathing problems.

Courtesy Automotive owner, Dale Kurtz examined a KRDO NewsChannel13 vehicle.

“The filter has a few leaves in it. That is pretty normal. The leaves fall down though the air duct vent, but this is definitely a filter that needs to be changed,” said Kurtz.

His findings were not too surprising, as KRDO NewsChannel13 teams were driving in the pre-evacuation and evacuation zones when the smoke was particularly thick. Many in Colorado Springs have moved fast, and already had their filters changed.

“We have sold more cabin air filters in these last two weeks than I ever have in the last five years. People have really done their homework,” said Kurtz.

If you still haven’t gotten your air filter changed, remember there are two in newer cars, the engine air filter and a cabin air filter.

If you have breathing problems but haven’t gotten that filter changed, techs in most automotive shops can check the filters when you get your oil changed.